Ynsect, an insect protein producer, nabbed another $224 million (€198.8 million) in both equity and debt to fund the construction of its insect farm in Amiens, France.

At capacity, the farm will produce around 20,000 metric tons of insect protein annually. Apart from the insect farm, the company will also open a new factory in North America.

The company has raised a total of $372 million (€315.2 million) in a Series C fundraising round supported by Astanor Ventures, Los Angeles-based Upfront Ventures, celebrity actor Robert Downey Jr.'s FootPrint Coalition, Hong Kong-based Happiness Capital, Supernova Invest and Armat Group. In 2019, the company had secured $125 million (€110 million) in venture capital.

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The startup's total financing reached $425 million (€360.1 million), which is more than the total amount raised by the entire insect protein sector globally.

To date, Ynsect has $105 million (€89.9million) worth of contracts signed to supply customers including aquaculture feed giant Skretting, European wine brand Torres, plant nutrition firm Compo Group.

Equity and debt financing was also sourced from the venture arm of the French state Caisse des Depots and a pool of French banks.

Ynsect's facility is due to go operational in early 2022.

The project will produce insects called tenebrio molitor, or mealworm beatles, on an industrial scale. The insects can be used as premium proteins for animal feed and fertilizers.

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